Exeter say they are waiting to hear from the Rugby Football Union after making an "administrative error" in fielding Fijian winger Nemani Nadolo.

Nadolo, who joined the west country club from Bourgoin in January, was not involved in Saturday's Aviva Premiership defeat against Bath amid speculation that the top-flight newcomers could face a points deduction for fielding the three-quarter incorrectly.

But Exeter have yet to be notified of any wrongdoing by the RFU and are awaiting correspondence from the governing body.

A club spokesman said: "There has been an administrative error and we are waiting to hear from the RFU. We have not been charged with anything as yet. We withdrew Nemani from yesterday's game against Bath due to the error, but there has been no deduction or anything like that and there has been no official charge."

The last Premiership club to be punished for fielding an ineligible player were Sale in 2009, who were deducted a point after naming hooker David Ward on the bench for a game against Harlequins despite failing to re-register him following a loan spell at Manchester.

Any points deduction would potentially drag Exeter into a relegation dogfight, with the Sandy Park side currently 16 points above bottom club Newcastle.

Head coach Rob Baxter had said following defeat at The Rec: "Due to a couple of administrative things we had to withdraw Nemani from the side, but a full statement will be coming out about that in the future when we know a little bit more about what is happening."